CVE-2020-14618 in Primavera Unifier
Summary
by MITRE
Vulnerability in the Primavera Unifier product of Oracle Construction and Engineering (component: Mobile App). The supported version that is affected is Prior to 20.6. Difficult to exploit vulnerability allows unauthenticated attacker with network access via HTTPS to compromise Primavera Unifier. Successful attacks require human interaction from a person other than the attacker. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized access to critical data or complete access to all Primavera Unifier accessible data as well as unauthorized update, insert or delete access to some of Primavera Unifier accessible data. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 5.9 (Confidentiality and Integrity impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/31/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-14618 resides within Oracle Construction and Engineering's Primavera Unifier platform, specifically affecting the mobile application component. This issue impacts versions prior to 20.6, representing a significant security gap that could expose critical project management data to unauthorized access. The vulnerability's classification as difficult to exploit indicates that while it requires specific conditions for successful exploitation, the potential impact remains severe enough to warrant immediate attention from security professionals.
The technical flaw manifests through a weakness in the mobile application's authentication mechanisms, allowing unauthenticated attackers to compromise the system via HTTPS network connections. This represents a critical failure in the principle of least privilege, where the system should require proper authentication before granting access to sensitive information. The vulnerability's CVSS score of 5.9 reflects the balance between the attack vector complexity and the potential impact on system confidentiality and integrity. The attack vector AV:N indicates network-based exploitation, while the high access complexity AC:H suggests that additional conditions must be met beyond simple network access.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft, as successful exploitation can result in complete access to all Primavera Unifier accessible data, including critical project information, resource allocations, and financial data. The vulnerability's requirement for human interaction through UI:R indicates that social engineering or user manipulation may be necessary to complete the attack, but this does not diminish the severity of potential consequences. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to perform unauthorized updates, inserts, or deletions of data, potentially causing significant disruption to project timelines and financial planning. The confidentiality impact is rated as high (C:H) given that sensitive project information could be exposed to unauthorized parties, while the integrity impact is rated as low to moderate (I:L) as the system allows for data modification but not complete system compromise.
Organizations utilizing Primavera Unifier should immediately implement remediation measures including upgrading to version 20.6 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address this vulnerability. Network segmentation and monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual access patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-287, which addresses improper authentication issues in software systems. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1190 - Exploit Public-Facing Application, and T1071.004 - Application Layer Protocol: DNS, as attackers may use these techniques to establish persistent access to the compromised system. Security teams should also implement network-based intrusion detection systems to monitor for potential exploitation attempts and establish incident response protocols specifically addressing mobile application vulnerabilities. The human interaction requirement suggests that user awareness training should be enhanced to prevent social engineering attacks that could facilitate exploitation, particularly focusing on verifying the authenticity of mobile application requests and maintaining proper security hygiene practices.